Mass Effect 1
by Gorton Colu
Summary: A fairly accurate retelling of the first game. More details inside. Rated M for violence, language and sex.
1. High and Uptight

"Is it me or does the Captain always sound a little pissed off?"

"Only when he's talking to you Joker."

Flight Lt. Jeff 'Joker' Moreau loved the cockpit. From the warm glow of the lights, to the tightly packed equipment that made walking impossible, and thus unnecessary. It was home.

Granted it was a home that moved at light speed, fired deadly lasers and could kill you a dozen different ways if you didn't watch it carefully. But as far as he was concerned, that kept things interesting.

He glanced over his shoulder. All clear.

"I never figured Shepard would be such a boy scout," Joker looked over at the 'navigator' seat. Kaidan Alecko was a plain faced man in his mid thirties. Nice guy, if you liked vanilla ice cream. "I mean yeah, we're on a mission, but he doesn't have to be so uptight."

"Have you known any XO who wasn't uptight. Especially a new XO." Kaidan shot back.

"But he's N7. You did a tour together right?"

Kaidan shook his head. "Just a mission, once."

"Oh come on. Don't tell me its classified." Joker threw up the air quotes.

"No. It was a couple of years ago and we weren't 'together'. He had an assignment and I was one of the soldiers assigned to support. I don't think he even remembers me."

"You saw him in action. What did you think of the guy?" Joker wasn't even pretending to watch the controls now.

"Shepard's a survivor. I didn't anything could kill him."

"Total bad ass."

"Yeah. But watching all your friends die... it leaves scars." Kaidan didn't look up from the controls.

"Did he ever talk about-

"I never asked."

"I've heard the stories. An entire colony goes dark. So the Alliance sends in a brigade to find out what happened. They all get wiped out. Except for one." A red light catches Joker's attention. Power irregularity. Core feedback event imminent. Joker flushed the excess heat to an emergency shunt. Piece of cake. "Like I said, total bad ass."

**A/N: **I'm going to take a few unusual steps with this fic. Firstly I'm not going to put any of it in Shepard's perspective (more on this later). As well, some scenes won't have Shepard in them, or really great scenes will be omitted. The reason for this is simple. We all know Shepard's story. It was really well done the first time, and I have nothing of value to add. HOWEVER there is plenty of depth and nuance left in the other characters and other scenes that I'm going to explore.

This story **will** be updated regularly, while SH – MM is uploaded concurrently but sporadically.


	2. Trouble in Paradise

It was a hot day on Eden Prime, and the warm morning light trickled through the shades to illuminate the sparse, but surprisingly roomy (for military anyway) quarters of one Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams. The lady in question stepped back into the room, towel wrapped around her still damp form. She looked down at the flashing data slate. One new message. Ashley took a deep calming breath, ran a hand through her long brown hair, sent a quick prayer on its way. Another breath. This was it. Open message.

To: Sgt. A. Williams;

Re: Transfer

_Sgt. Williams in light of your excellent training scores and flawless service to the Alliance over the past 8 years we are proud to award you with a commendation for your loyalty, and will be awarded immediately allow with a commensurate increase in pay. _

_ However at this time we must deny your re-_

Ashley didn't need to read the rest. It wasn't her first request for a transfer, nor the second, not even the third. She'd lost count over the years but it had to be somewhere north of fifty. She chucked the slate at the wall with a frustrated scream.

"And its nine years of service you fuckers! Not eight. NINE!"

Most soldiers didn't request transfers into hotspots or front line duties, and the few that do don't need to ask twice. But not her. Not with a name like Williams hanging around her neck like a million pound weight. For nearly a decade Ashley had been sent from one shit assignment to another. The Alliance hadn't been able to deny her enlistment, so they settled for making her life inside the service as miserable as possible. Eden Prime was just the latest in a long line of go nowhere, do nothing assignments.

At least she got her own quarters. Ashley dropped the towel and examined herself in the mirror. She was pretty, with high cheekbones and bronze skin from her father, but had her mother's height and slim build. Long years of hard training had given her long lean body a hard edge, but she still had some nice curves. Not that it mattered, she didn't have time for a relationship, not if she wanted off this planet.

A glance at the wall clock told her she needed to get her ass in gear. There was a new team to babysit at the dig site. A new group of idiots and screw ups to train. She be damned if they saw anything less than the perfect soldier.

Some people drank coffee, some people worked out, but for Ashley, the best way to wake up in the morning was to get good and screaming. Lucky for her the Alliance provides.

She burst into the common barracks like a grenade. "Lets go ladies, move those asses. I want to see boots in motion."

Watching the privates' scramble to cover their privates while they tumbled out of their racks almost made her laugh and ruined the whole thing. Fifty men and women dove into the uniforms, while they crashed into each other and everything else. They looked like shit.

"Today is a very special day."

The chorus of groans was like music to her ears.

"Can you tell me why Serviceman Bhatia?"

The slight dark skinned woman flinched for a second, then recovered.

"We have guests."

Ashley liked Nirali Bhatia. Dependable and capable of anticipating problems, she was a rare gem in a mountain of screw ups. She was also the only person in the room who was ready and dressed every morning. The corpsman was on loan as their medic until one of the others got certified. The selfish part of Ashley would be sad to see her go. Dedicated soldiers were rare in the 212, and Ashley didn't make friends easily.

"That's right we have guests. Which is why ladies, we are getting an early start on our morning PT. Now more those asses."

The door Ashley opened and Lt. Khristophoros strode in. The company commander was a tall man, with a dark swarthy complexion. His hair didn't quite make regs though and she couldn't put her finger on it but there was something about him that Ashley just didn't like.

Though a good guess might be because that he was a womanizing manwhore who who was led by his dick as much as anything else

"Good morning Chief." He never bothered to look her in the eyes. Prick.

"And what a fine morning it is Lieutenant."

" Did your transfer come through?" That stopped her cold. The bastard knew. But did he know about.

"It's not like they can keep you here forever, no matter who your grandfather was." His big toothy grin could only be described as patronizing.

Ashley burned with rage, even as she flushed red. Don't make a big deal. Everyone's staring at you! Don't make a big deal!

"Probably right sir."

He nodded to her smartly and left. But the stolen glances from the men continued. Oh yes, it was only a matter of time now until everyone knew.

And what was that bastard playing at. Did she think if he made her life miserable enough she'd just fall into bed with him in despair. Now, dropping him into a ravine in despair...

"Gunnery Chief." Nirali's voice called her back. "Where to?"

Ashley just wanted the morning to be over. But she couldn't just wash her hands of this. Not her. Not a Williams.

"Alright. Meet me on the course in five."

Ashley led them on a rather spiteful run. She set a bruising pace through the hilly outskirts of the colony. From the wheezing and hacking behind her, it was all they could do to keep up.

She shouldn't have to do this. Technically the 212 was a combat ready unit. In fact their posting was officially an important guard position to a strategically essential colony. But that was just bureaucratic BS. The truth was Eden Prime policed itself. And it was close enough to Arcturus and its fleets that it needed no defenses. Which was good, because the 212 was basically the biggest group of screw ups and rejects the Alliance had. Most likely someone had figured out that if you crowd all the morons in one place they can't do as much damage.

Ashley pumped her legs and put on more speed as she drove up the hill. There wasn't anything on the planet worth fighting over.

Except that.

That weird alien statue thing. The eggheads called it a beacon. From the way they had gushed over it, Ashley figured it would have turned tin into platinum or something. But so far the large stone plinth had only been good at two things. Not moving and being heavy.

"Excuse me. Miss!"

Ashley skidded to a halt to a halt in front of a scientist wearing a pristine lab coat and thick glasses.

"Gunnery Sergeant."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm not a miss. I'm Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams. What can I do for you?"

"I was told that one of your associates and it really is a matter of the most importance-

Ashley held up a hand to cut him off. She whipped around to see the rest of the group coming to a halt behind her.

"Who told you to stop?"

"But you're stopping." Wurtz was a lumpy faced kid. How did that soft gutted wuss ever make it through basic?

"I'll catch up. Now run."

Ashley turned back to walking stereotype. "You were saying."

"It's very important that some of your soldiers are here guarding the artifact at all times."

"I'll have a squad back here in thirty, will that do it?"

"Yes very much so. Thank you." And with that the strange little man tottered away to play in the dig site so more.

Wurtz and two other unlucky whiners ended up being the ones who missed morning chow. Too bad for them, but it wasn't like they needed it. They might as well be here, watching the dork squad dig up whatever this stuff was.

Guard duty or whatever they were supposed to be doing out there was horrific. To call it boring was an insult to the term. The only thing keeping Ashley awake was the fact she was standing. Still, she'd have to remember that for when she needed a good creative punishment.

In the meantime, she had a long day of listening to that scientist, his name was Adler, drone on and on about physics or history or both.

"You see the accepted theory is that Prothean Beacons such as this acted as sort of digital libraries. Of course we've never actually recovered one intact before." He squealed. He actually squealed, like a nine year old girl when she gets a pony.

"But I postulate that the beacons are actually terminals for communication."

"Uh huh." Her eyes started to droop.

"Now they _can_ be used as a repository of knowledge."

"Yeah." Maybe she actually could sit down for the rest of the shift. It's not like the the scientists, or the squad would care. Hell, there wasn't anybody on that planet who would give a damn. That perked her up for a second.

"But the information cataloged within is more likely a record of whatever information was transmitted or received."

"That's real interesting doc."

The bespectacled little man regarded her coldly. Someone didn't like being ignored. "Excuse me young lady. I am a professor of Astrological physics, not as you so succinctly put, a doc. I am due the respect of my position. And I will have it."

He drew himself up to his full height. Still not enough that he could look her in the eye.

Ashley sighed. This guy was probably big stuff. And she'd pissed him off. Why was it whenever she ran into anyone important she always seemed to rub them the wrong way? She was about to try an apology when she noticed something over Adler's shoulder.

There was some kind of spongy ball in the tangled underbrush a few meters away. It was dark and metallic and

Ashley threw herself flat and dragged Adler with her.

"What are you doing? Unhand me. Where is your supervisor? I'm going to have a word w-"

Ashley clamped a a hand over his mouth. "It's Lt. Khristophoros. You can file a complaint later. For now just shut up."

Ashley peered around the cover of some rocks they were lying beside. The spongy metal ball was unfolding. Legs emerged, then arms, finally a distorted head that whipped towards them. Ashley starred at it, transfixed. The … thing was in a low crouch, like some kind of animal, but made of metal. It was oddly silent.

"It's a Geth!" Adler whispered. His wide eyes confirming the terror in his voice.

"What's a Geth?" Ashley spit out. But Adler couldn't form any more words. His mouth opened and closed sporadically, letting out low moans.

And then the Geth lept into the dig site. In seconds it was tearing apart the equipment, and the scientists. And the answer was obvious. Geth were monsters.

**A/N: **Alright. I'm not super happy with it, but I'm going to publish because I said I would get it out tonight, and IMO when doing fanfic, its better to publish wrong and fix it later, than wait for perfection. I've also split this chapter into two parts.

Spend a lot of today coming up with the good stuff of where I wanted this story to go (within the confines I've already established).


End file.
